Wishing All A Very Happy New Year
Music Festival Dates
December 26, 2012
WEDNESDAY
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www.estevanmercury.ca Issue 34
Photo Highlights From 2012
Sports Year In Review
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SaskPower and Cenovus sign major deal By Norm Park of The Mercury
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It is a deal that was months in the making, but finally solidified on Dec. 19. SaskPower and Cenovus Energy announced that Cenovus had entered into a long-term contract with the Crown corporation to purchase pretty well all of the carbon dioxide gas that will be extracted from SaskPower ’s Boundary Dam Unit 3 carbon capture facility once it becomes operational in 2014. Cenovus will purchase the full volume of about one million tonnes per year of the CO2 captured in the refurbished No. 3 power generating unit that is being outfitted to capture most of the noxious yet valued gases that are emitted from the coal-fired system. The clean coal unit will be the first commercial sized unit in the world, and is sched-
Enbridge Donates To PIFD
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An aerial view of the Boundary Dam Unit 3 carbon capture construction area taken in the fall of this year as the project moves steadily toward an early 2014 completion date. Photo submitted by SaskPower uled to go on stream April 1, 2014, pumping out over 100 megawatts of electricity while capturing the gases in the project that will cost $1.24 billion. Cenovus said they’ll be ready to accept the CO2 when SaskPower’s inte-
grated carbon capture and storage facility goes into operation. They will begin work immediately so they can deliver the gas the 70 kilometres between Boundary Dam and their major oilfield at Goodwater near Weyburn. This field
has already been subjected to carbon dioxide gas as an enhanced oil recovery agent using gas obtained from a North Dakota Gasification Corp. outlet near Beulah. The company has been doing this for over 11 years now and were anxious
to procure additional gas sources to provide more flexibility and for possible expansion of the field that already has 550 producing wells on it, pumping out 27,000 barrels of oil per day (bpd). John Brannan, Cenovus executive vice-president and CEO, said, “Ensuring we have a consistent and adequate supply of CO2 is critical to maintaining and expanding our enhanced oil recovery project near Weyburn.â€? He went on to note the agreement provides them with that second reliable source of CO2 for their Saskatchewan operations and that they looked forward to working with SaskPower. Robert Watson, president and CEO of SaskPower, speaking with The Mercury the day after the announcement, said there is an option to extend the contract beyond the current 10-year Clean ⇢A2
Municipal election top story of 2012 Scan with your smartphone to visit The Mercury’s mobile website
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INDEX Careers ................................B17 - 18 Church Dir............................B14 Classifieds ...........................B12 - 16 Obituaries ...........................B14 Perspective..........................A6 Business ..............................A13 Energy .................................B14 -15 Services Dir. ........................B15 - 16 Sports .................................B1 - 6 Community .........................B7
We knew early on in 2012 that Estevan would have a new mayor. What we didn’t know was who would replace Gary St. Onge, the man who’d held the position since 2005. After what turned out to be an interesting race between two council veterans and a local businessman, the experience of Roy Ludwig won out as the voters of Estevan chose him to lead the city for the next
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local media in late June. The second person to enter the race was another member of council Lynn Chipley. The twoterm member came out of the gate flying, saying that the City needed to improve many of the ways it conducts its business and that change was needed throughout Estevan to ensure the Energy City makes itself a place that people want to live in, not a place where they work a couple of
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It wasn’t until late June when the first hat was officially thrown into the ring when Ludwig, to no one’s surprise, announced that he planned to seek the mayor’s job after 18 years as a councillor. Running on his past record and involvement in such groups as the St. Joseph’s Hospital Board and the Spectra Place Construction Committee, of which he was chairman, Ludwig made his announcement to
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four years. With St. Onge making it clear that he was not going to run for another term as mayor, it set the stage for a new face to jump in and take over the city’s top job. Initially, however, it seemed as though interest in becoming mayor wast lukewarm in the community. Councillor Chris Istace was among the first to indicate interest, but he ultimately decided to run for another term on council.
years and move on. With the deadline nearing, a third person entered the race, local businessman Jim Halladay. The owner of M&H Taxi and a former member of the Estevan Police Service, Halladay said he decided to run after a number of residents encouraged him to do so. His primary issue entering the race was ensuring that the City was meeting all of its infrastructure needs. Experienced ⇢A2
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